Zimbabwe warned Thursday that a string of strikes threatened efforts to revive the economy after the ousting of Robert Mugabe, as a stand-off with striking nurses deepened.

The government on Tuesday sacked the majority of 15,000 nurses who started industrial action this week shortly after doctors ended their month-long strike.

Public wages suck up more than 90 percent of government revenue in Zimbabwe, where the economy suffered decades of decline under Mugabe’s rule.